Help With 3 Axis Zero Plate

[rb99]

With my old controller it had a "motors off" command and I could manually move the router into it's final position. I had the old ball screw Z. I would put a piece of paper under the bit and turn the bit down until the paper would tear. Then MO "motors on" I was good to go. The 4g controller eliminated the motors on and off commands, and my upgrade to a new rack and pinion Z doubled down on it.

[srwtlc]

Sneak up on it with the keypad after getting it close....

"Several additional functions are provided. If you hit a <D> (upper or lower case) on your keyboard or click on the “fixed” button in the keypad window the tool will move a fixed distance. This distance is set in the small box that appears or in the Fill-In sheet by typing “VD” and changing the “KeyPad Fixed Distance” value"

[curtiss]

Years ago, I laid out a few "reference squares" on a 48x48 table to help line things up on the x y.

Squares were 12, 18, 24, 28, 36, 42 and 48 inches .... I think they were .04 deep with a .03 bit.

Also drilled in a grid on 5 1/2 inch centers with a 1/4" threaded T insert mounted to the bottom to secure work pieces. (First hole is at 2,2)

One can also come up from the bottom with a lag screw into the work piece to provide "pull down" instead of "hold down" ... The bolts come thru at the "high spots" in the vac plenum.

"Pull down" works great for many things... one just has to miss the bolts each and every time.

[rtfosmoe]

Tom,

Can you tell me where the 3-axis zero plate software routines are located in the included in SB3? I just received a 3-axis zero plate and I'm about to hook it up tomorrow.

Thanks,

Rich

[EricSchimel]

You should have gotten a thumb drive with the plate:

https://www.shopbottools.com/ShopBot...%2010%2016.pdf

In the first page of the instructions they show you how to install the scripts:

2020-12-27 at 7.01 PM.jpg

If you didn't get the thumb drive just email/call SB tech support and they can get you setup with the latest versions.

[rtfosmoe]

All,

Need some help. I obtained the software for the x,y,z zero plate from Shopbot early this morning. I installed it and ran it using the following procedure:

1. I copied all files which they sent me into the Custom Directory.
2. Adjusted the plate thickness variable to the thickness of my plate
3. Test the ground loop between the spindle/bit and plate - I can see it change states in the control software
4. Ran the C10 outer zeroing routine the bit comes down and touches the aluminum plate and then it tries to go further down till the machine stops and the screen displays "Input is already triggered - Exit". I can see the change in state when the machine touches the plate.

The same test was run using the standard z plate and the results are the same. The machine stops in after trying to go further in the Negative Z direction.

I ran several tests to check on the x, y, and z using the control software to see if they actually move out a specific distance/height and then measure the distances. Everything seems to be working fine. I also can Zero the Z-axis using the C2 command with both the X, Y, Z zero plate, and the normal Z zero plate.

Removed the Control software from my computer and reinstalled it. I rebooted my computer at least 10 times between testing. I even installed the software on a Mac which runs Windows under Parallels and the results are all the same. The machine starts the test and the bit comes down on the plate and then it tries to further down in the negative Z-direction until the machine stops. Tom from Shopbot and I spent most of the day (47 emails, videos, and pictures) and he doesn't have any ideas. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

[srwtlc]

I've stopped using SB3 on my machine going on two years now, so I can't dig through the files, but I seem to remember finding a similar problem with the 3.8 beta versions in the standard C2 zeroing script where they were performing some wrong math with the pullback after the first touch. I wonder if that bad code was copied over to the scripts that are being used for the three axis plate. It had to do with adding a negative value to a variable or something like that, that actually commanded the Z axis to go down (negative) instead of up. If you compare the C2 script with the one you are trying to use, I'm guessing it will be different in the block of code I'm thinking of.

I could be wrong, but it sounds awfully familiar.

Scott

[rtfosmoe]

Scott,

You are on the right track. We found that the pull-up height wasn't enough of the thickness of my plate. We just solve the issue after about 8 hours of scratching our heads.

Thanks,

Rich